Katherine Manion O'Sullivan

Katherine (Kay) Manion O’Sullivan, mother of six boys and one daughter, author, playwright, artist, Levant historian, known to her grandchildren as Nonie, sometimes endearingly referred to as ‘the old battle-axe’ by her boys, crossed the river at 3:10 pm on Saturday, September 18th, aged 96 years.  Kay was born to US Navy CDR Dr. James Lorne and Waltona Burns Manion on June 16th, 1925, in Coronado, California. She spent her early childhood in Shanghai, China, where her fondest memories centered around her beloved nursemaid, her Amah, followed by her adolescent years in Chicago. After graduation from Evanston High School in Evanston, Illinois, her family moved back to Coronado. In the year following, she sailed avidly at the Coronado Yacht Club, matriculated at UCLA, joined Kappa Kappa Gamma, and quickly developed amongst her Kappa sisters cherished friendships that endured throughout her life. While at an afternoon tea dance for naval officers at the Hotel Del Coronado in the summer of 1944, much to the disappointment of her many UCLA beaus, she met and fell in love with Lt. Edward P. O’Sullivan (EP), then serving in the Pacific as a gunnery officer on the USS Capps. Kay and EP’s 65-year life together, starting with their marriage in the spring of 1945 and ending at EP’s death in the summer of 2010, was, to say the least, interesting.  Kay and EP bought their first home in Barrington, Rhode Island. There they joined the Barrington Yacht Club, spending summers with their young and growing family sailing Narragansett Bay. In 1955, EP’s job with Esso took the family to Beirut, Lebanon. It was in Beirut and Lebanon, a city, country, and its people that Kay came to adore, where Kay effloresced. She was an active volunteer at the American University Hospital where she founded the Pink Ladies, a group of Lebanese and international women who tended to the children in the pediatric ward. Kay painted and sketched just about every possible scene in the country. She enrolled at the American University where she earned a BA in Middle Eastern History, this while raising seven children, and all the while maintaining a very active social life in Beirut, as well as entertaining at her chalet in the Bsharri Mountains and hosting parties at her beautifully restored thousand year-old little house in the seven thousand year old-port town of Byblos. The early 1970’s civil war in Lebanon disrupted EP’s business, resulting in a family move to The Hague. It was in the Netherlands that Kay pursued a master’s degree in History at the University of Leiden.  Much work and travel went into her rather arcane master’s thesis - Dutch Trade in the Levant in the 17th Century.  Upon the family’s move to Houston, Kay resumed an earlier interest in writing. She wrote prolifically, working oftentimes into the early hours of the morning, mostly on short stories, poetry, and plays, many of which were published, and one of which was performed at A.D. Players theatre in Houston.  A privately published memoir of her life in the Middle East was her magnum opus. She continued with her painting, adding stitching and needlepoint as she got older. Kay was always happily surprised by the prices people paid for her needlepoint creations, the sale proceeds of which benefitted the Houston KKG Pilgrimage. Throughout her life, Kay was adventurous, sometimes, according to her husband, to the point of borderline recklessness.  She was well acquainted with Yassir Arafat, raised money for Palestinian refugee children, lunched with the Soviet Ambassador to Lebanon, and associated with the heads of various and competing political and paramilitary factions, some of whom, regrettably, found themselves assassinated by their rivals. At the same time, she was baking cookies for the Cub Scouts and hosting field trips for her school-aged children. She traveled all over the world, oftentimes by herself with children in tow. Kay was particularly proud of her Carolina Scots ancestry, recounting often enough, maybe too often, episodes of her family’s naval history, both fortunate and otherwise, including colorful stories about the family rebelling for the Jacobite cause, privateering for the US during the War of 1812, and running the Union blockade for the Confederacy during the unpleasantness between the states. Her hero, whom she reverently spoke of throughout her life, was her very independent and somewhat rebellious grandmother, Muzz, one of the first women, as Kay never failed to point out, to practice medicine west of the Mississippi River.   Kay loved her dogs dearly -- Sandy, Britta, Flora, Reagan, Christa, Lil’ Eddy -- and the one and only cat in her life, Blue. Kay is survived by six children, four daughters-in-law, two ex-daughters-in-law, one son in-law, thirteen grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and, sadly, just a couple of her old friends.  Kay, Nonie, the old battle-axe, the family keystone, lived a full and spirited life. She will be sorely missed. What will not be missed is her jellied asparagus mousse salad.

The family extends its heartfelt gratitude and thanks to Rosa Macedonio and Cristina Rosales for their attentive and dedicated service.

Kay’s funeral will be held at 2 pm on the 11th of October at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 19th Street at Heights Boulevard, Reverend James M. L. Grace presiding. A reception will follow. Details to be announced at the funeral.